As per the recently defined IEEE 802.11u standard, an access point vendor is required to establish a tunnel supporting Layer 2 (L2) tunneling protocols with a service provider to provide connection service to mobile phone users. Further, the IEEE 802.11u standard allows an access point (AP) of a wireless local area network (WLAN) to support mobile phone communications with multiple service provider networks. The number of L2 tunnels that needs to be established is directly proportional to the number of service providers supported by the AP. The more service providers supported, the greater the number of tunnels that need to be established.
In particular, a Layer-2 Tunneling Protocol—Version 3 (L2tpv3) protocol establishes L2 tunnels that are always in upward direction from the AP towards the service providers. The number of tunnels is proportional to the number of service providers supported by the AP, and these tunnels are established even if they are not used. However, the presence of these L2 tunnels, even when it's not necessary, creates unnecessary overhead and loading since these tunnels need protection with IPsec for data integrity and encryption, which is processor intensive for a service provider concentrator, the AP, and any intermediate hub provider.
Hence, there is a need of a system and method in which L2 tunnels are set up or established dynamically between a WLAN and service providers, only when there is a need to do so. It would also be of benefit if these tunnels can be torn down when not being used.
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The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.